NEWS

A series of stories on the team captains in the Ontario Junior Hockey League during the 2017-18 season:

By Ron Valentine

LUCAS CONDOTTA (Photo by Andy Corneau / OJHL Images) is now on his second term as captain of the MARKHAM ROYALS.

It is his last season in Junior hockey, his fifth and he wants to bring a more dominant and guiding presence to the dressing room this time around. He has had a fast start, personally, for the club but that takes a back seat to overall team success.

Lucas says he is very excited about some new acquisitions especially veteran Jack Jeffers and former SIJHL sniper Braedyn Aubin who have been contributing major offense for the club.

Condotta leads the Royals in scoring (30G/39A). Jeffers has 68 points and Aubin 55.

He looked for a breakout year for Brett Ouderkirk who has already surpassed the number of goals (22) scored last season.

He expected that the Nemwarket Hurricanes and the Aurora Tigers would be the toughest opponent in the North, as they have been, as his club aims to repeat as champions of that Division.

He says the younger guys on the team are starting to get used to the pace of the league and looks for continued strong contributions as the campaign moves through the second half.

He notes that the North/East Conference has tightened up overall and there will be no easy games. He leans on 'A's Jacob Cuffley and fellow former Hamilton Red Wing Jonathan Prasnjak to keep the team moving in the right direction.

As to the future he has committed for next season to UMass-Lowell – a reward for a great OJHL career.